Facebook Fights Pinterest For Brand Valentines

Which social darling should brands be wooing, this Valentine’s Day -- Facebook or Pinterest?
 
In the week leading up to this year’s love day, online shoppers referred from Pinterest averaged $147.74 per order, overshadowing Facebook referrals, which drove $125.24 per order.

However, Facebook referrals converted sales at 3.5 times the rate of Pinterest referrals -- which, according to the latest IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark data, suggests stronger consumer confidence in network recommendations.
 
Social experts say the findings are consistent with broader industry trends. “It is apparent that users are more engaged with their Facebook feeds,” said Danny Wong, co-founder of social strategy startup Shareaholic. “Links, shares and interactions on Facebook provide more relevant information for buyers.
 
“You trust your friends to share recommendations based on their personal experience and what they believe you would think about the product -- because they know you,” Wong added. “Pinterest offers similar engagement, but a mix of strangers and a smaller user base -- which doesn't include all of your friends -- seems to make all the difference.”
 
Year-over-year, online shopping rose 8% between February 7 and February 13, according to IBM's study.
 
Growth was particularly strong in the gifts sector, which rose 20%, along with apparel (up 17%) and health and beauty (up 15%). Department stores also did especially well, as online purchases were up 34% year-over-year.

Mobile traffic accounted for 36.8% of all online traffic -- up 39.6% compared to the same period, last year. Mobile sales also remained strong at 17.2% of all online sales -- up 42.9% over 2013.

Smartphones drove 23.3% of all online traffic compared to tablets at 13.3%, making it the browsing device of choice.  
 
When it comes to making the sale, tablets drove 11.4% of all online sales, twice that of smartphones, which accounted for 5.6%. Tablet users also averaged $135.26 per order, versus smartphone users, who averaged $114.00 per order.

As a percentage of total online sales, iOS was more than four times higher than Android, driving 13.6% vs. 3.4% for Android. On average, iOS users spent $132.28 per order vs. Android users who spent $110.54 per order.  iOS also led as a component of overall online traffic with 24.6%, nearly twice that of Android users at 11.9%.

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